MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC Sells 184 Shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC)

MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial Co. (NASDAQ:WTFC) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,997 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 184 shares during the period. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC’s holdings in Wintrust Financial were worth $417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WTFC. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Wintrust Financial by 79.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,566,003 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $145,247,000 after purchasing an additional 693,452 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $61,898,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 136.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 860,623 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,823,000 after acquiring an additional 497,065 shares during the period. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Wintrust Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $31,267,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wintrust Financial by 102.2% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 596,632 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,338,000 after acquiring an additional 301,528 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.48% of the company’s stock.

Wintrust Financial Trading Up 3.0 %

WTFC stock traded up $2.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.56. 504,560 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 286,625. Wintrust Financial Co. has a 52-week low of $70.25 and a 52-week high of $105.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98. The business has a 50 day moving average of $97.66 and a 200-day moving average of $96.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 1.19.

Wintrust Financial (NASDAQ:WTFC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 18th. The bank reported $2.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.42 by $0.47. Wintrust Financial had a return on equity of 13.09% and a net margin of 17.86%. The business had revenue of $604.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Wintrust Financial Co. will post 10.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wintrust Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 8th. Wintrust Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WTFC. StockNews.com raised Wintrust Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Wintrust Financial from $115.00 to $113.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $116.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Hovde Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Wintrust Financial in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Wintrust Financial from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wintrust Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.38.

About Wintrust Financial

Wintrust Financial Corporation operates as a financial holding company. It operates in three segments: Community Banking, Specialty Finance, and Wealth Management. The Community Banking segment offers non-interest bearing deposits, non-brokered interest-bearing transaction accounts, and savings and domestic time deposits; home equity, consumer, and real estate loans; safe deposit facilities; and automatic teller machine (ATM), online and mobile banking, and other services.